Senior captain Brian Kaufman and the RedHawks are prepared to face in-state rival Ohio State this weekend. The Buckeyes remain ranked 5th in the CCHA and 15th nationally.
With just one weekend remaining in regular season play, pieces are quickly falling into place for hockey teams across the nation, shuffling rankings and deciding the post-season fates for NCAA tournament hopefuls.
Boston University and the University of Notre Dame are solidly locked in to their slots atop the NCAA. The two teams have occupied the top two spots for eight straight weeks, with BU in the midst of a nation-leading 12-game unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, defending NCAA champion and Miami University nemesis Boston College dropped out of the top 20 for the first time in the 2008-09 season. Other squads are still scrambling to position themselves. Last week, the 20 teams listed in Inside College Hockey's (INCH) power rankings competed in a combined total 14 matches. The fact that those games were decided by a total of 18 goals signals just how competitive and close the race to the finish line has become.
Enter No. 7 Miami's final contest this weekend against No. 15 Ohio State University. It is both appropriate and strange the brotherhood will end the 2008-09 regular season the same way they began it-with a home-and-home series against the Scarlet and Gray. The division of home ice time over the course of the series is unique and provides added balance and excitement to the contest. At the same time, the RedHawks' win and tie against the Buckeyes back on Oct. 10 and 11 should be in no way indicative of their success this weekend.
Fourteen underclassmen occupy Miami's roster-eight of them freshmen-and the Buckeyes are even younger with 22 underclassmen, nine rookies. True to head coach Enrico Blasi's resolve to "get better every day," the Red and White has grown from a team that won less than half of its first 11 games to a program that boasts two first-class goaltenders, one of the nation's top scorers and devastatingly effective special teams. Comparably, the Buckeyes also posted only five Ws in their first 11 contests but have since found their groove with an equally adept net minder and a capable and persevering offensive line that has held scoring margins to a close cumulative .68-point average over the course of the season. This weekend's contest, therefore, cannot be gauged based on what the two teams previously were, but rather on what they have become.
"I think we've learned a lot this season," junior Gary Steffes said. "Through the games we've been through, we've come together as a team, how to be at our best and how to come back in situations when games have gotten hard. We've figured out ways to bounce back from adversity, and I think that's something that's going to help us here in the future. There are going to be games that are going to be coming down to the line, and we'll have to figure out ways to win, whether the goalies are playing really well or we get a couple of bounces and we're down a goal going into the third."
A lot is on the line for both teams this weekend, adding fire to the already fierce rivalry. OSU, who has compiled a record of 19-11-4 overall and 12-10-4-3 in conference play, currently resides at fifth place in the CCHA, just three points shy of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The Nanooks have already completed their conference schedule, so if the Buckeyes are able to earn at least three of four points against the Red and White this weekend, they will secure the coveted fourth and final first round bye in the CCHA Playoffs. In return, Miami (18-9-5 overall, 16-6-4-2 CCHA) must take home at least three points this weekend or risk not getting a spot in the NCAA Playoffs this year.
"I think it's two big games for Ohio State," Steffes said. "I think it's two huge games for us. I think that just makes the games a lot better. I think putting a little incentive on things makes the games a little more fun, a little more intense, and that's something that we can feed off of...It's pressure that will give us a little more energy, a little more spark and it'll make us a little better."
Both Miami and OSU possess incredibly talented offenses with very different styles. The Buckeyes strongly depend on their 11th ranked scoring offense and pack a powerful punch even when the chips are against them, as was evidenced by their come-from-behind victory against No. 3 University of Michigan last weekend. The RedHawks are very dependent on being first to light the lamp, as they are 2-9-3 on the season when allowing the opening goal of the game. Beyond that initial hurdle, however, Miami sees scoring contribution from almost every member of the team and does a good job of patiently waiting for scoring opportunities while making sure to barrage opponents with lots of shots in between.
"I think Ohio State's a heck of a hockey team and we have to be on top of our game," Steffes said. "We have to be in our system and we have to play as a team. If we do that, we put ourselves in a great position to win two games this weekend."
Sophomore Hobey Baker Award nominee Carter Camper leads the offensive charge for the Red and White. The forward from Rocky River, Ohio, is nationally tied for 14th in overall scoring with 37 points-19 goals and 18 assists. His 19 goals rank fifth in the NCAA, and 11 of those tallies have come on the man-advantage-good for third place in power play scoring.
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Additionally, sophomore Pat Cannone ranks 32nd in overall scoring with 32 points.
"I think it'll be a close game for sure," senior captain Brian Kaufman said, "but we want to play our side of the game, playing in their end and possessing the puck and getting chances that way...If they can't get it out of their own zone, then that's the best defense."
Miami's D-corps has a lot of talent, too, from rookies Wideman and Will Weber to senior assistant captain and resident team enforcer Kevin Roeder. Wideman is tied for fifth in the CCHA in defenseman scoring with 22 assists and has a team best +14, while Weber contributes serious physical presence to the ice, leading the team in both penalties and penalty minutes. Roeder, notorious for his big hits, boasts a +9, and the RedHawks' scoring defense ranks fifth in the NCAA. Additionally, the brotherhood's penalty kill unit tops the national charts, and Miami is the only team in the NCAA with a PK efficiency of 90 percent or better.
"We're working on getting in front of the goalie and making life hard for him," Kaufman said. "(Last weekend) we had a lot of perimeter shots...but it wasn't what we wanted."
Freshman net minder Connor Knapp has compiled a record of 12-3-3 this season and is the fifth ranked goaltender in all of D1 college hockey. His 1.748 goals against average (GAA) ranks fifth as well. Freshman Cody Reichard, who has recently reappeared in games, ranks 13th nationally with a .912 SP and 2.186 GAA. Regardless of who is between the pipes, Miami's last line of defense will have to be on guard throughout the series and particularly in the final stanzas. OSU has put away 45 pucks in the third period this season, relative to 34 pucks in the first period and 32 in the second.
The two teams will first face off first in Oxford, before traveling to Value City Arena in Columbus for the series closer. The puck is slated to drop at 7:35 p.m. Friday in Steve Cady Arena and at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
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